Systems and method for intelligently detecting proximity to locations of interest

ABSTRACT

A system described herein may identify proximity events using geofencing capabilities of user equipment (“UE”) such as mobile phones. The UE may interact with a mobile client manager (“MCM”) to identify landmarks (or “locations of interest”) near the UE. The UE may identify a set of local landmarks that are nearest to the UE. The UE may utilize geofence-based location services to reduce power consumption when outside geofences associated with local landmarks. If the UE enters a geofence associated with a local landmark, the UE may utilize granular location services for increased accuracy. The UE may notify the MCM when the UE “dwells” near a given landmark by entering the geofence associated with the landmark but does not approach a threshold distance of the landmark. The UE may cease utilizing granular location services when dwelling, and may instead use location services based on push messages received from the MCM.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is a Continuation of U.S. Patent Application No.16/699,376, filed on Nov. 29, 2019, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHOD FORINTELLIGENTLY DETECTING PROXIMITY TO LOCATIONS OF INTEREST,” thecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Location information of User Equipment (“UE”), such as mobiletelephones, can be used to identify UEs with which interaction may bedesirable. UE location may be determined by dedicated proximity devices,such as fixed-location beacons.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates selective use of geofences and location tracking toprovide low-power, adaptable proximity tracking, in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate use of geofences to identify proximity eventsassociated with local landmarks, in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate landmark geofences within a local area andproximity tracking within a landmark geofence, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example environment in which one or moreembodiments, described herein, may be implemented;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process by which geofences associated witha set of landmarks may be generated and utilized to provideproximity-based services;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process by which position data iscollected and compared to landmark reference points to identifyproximity events;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process by which position data iscollected and compared to landmark reference points to identifyproximity events;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process by which wakeup messages aregenerated and sent to a UE based on a previously-identified dwell event;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process by which wakeup messages aregenerated and sent to a UE based on a proximity event detected outsideoperating hours;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process by which notification messagesare generated and sent based on arrival at a landmark; and

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of one or more devices, accordingto one or more embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements.

Embodiments described herein provide techniques for identifyingproximity events using geofencing capabilities of user equipment (“UE”),such as a mobile telephone and/or some other type of UE. The UE mayutilize a client application or other appropriate resource to providevarious features described herein.

The UE may send a request message, to a mobile client manager (“MCM”),for a list of landmarks (or “locations of interest”) near the UE. Therequest message may include the current UE location. The request messagemay further include a radius or range of interest, filter criteria(e.g., the request may indicate that landmarks be associated with aspecific resource or service, such as restaurants or gas stations, aspecific retailer or provider, and/or other appropriate filtercriteria), and/or other appropriate information.

The location of the UE may be determined using UE location services or“location tracking services.” UE location services may include, forinstance, UE determination of location based on received positioninformation from a Global Positioning System (“GPS”) module associatedwith the UE, triangulation or other calculations based on receivedsignal strength or other appropriate parameters (e.g., transmissiondelay, received power, etc.) at the UE (e.g., from one or more cellulartowers, Wi-Fi access points, radio frequency identification (“RFID”)devices, wireless beacons, etc.), and/or other appropriate resourcesavailable to the UE. In some embodiments, the MCM and/or other externalcomponents may determine UE location or provide information that may beused to determine the location. For instance, the MCM may determine UElocation based on received signal strength of the UE at one or morecellular towers or other connection points.

The MCM may send a response message that includes the list of landmarks.Alternatively, the UE may interact with another resource to generate thelist of landmarks (e.g., by retrieving a previously-received list storedat the UE, by interacting with a map database, by interacting with aserver associated with a retailer or other establishment, etc.). Thelist of landmarks may include information associated with each landmarkin the list, such as a unique identifier, a location (e.g., latitude andlongitude coordinates), a geofence radius, reference points or locationsassociated with the landmark, and/or other appropriate information(e.g., a web address of a resource associated with the landmark,proprietor information, etc.). The MCM, UE, and/or other resources mayinclude such information in the list of landmarks.

Each landmark may be, and/or may be associated with, a physicalestablishment with a fixed location (e.g., a retail store, restaurant,etc.), a venue or event space (e.g., a shopping mall, a stadium, arena,park, etc.), a mobile or moveable service or platform (e.g., a foodtruck, temporary event stage, etc.), and/or other appropriate location.

The UE may generate a set of geofences based on the list of landmarksand/or other relevant factors. The UE may update the set of geofences atregular intervals, based on updated location or other UE information,detected geofence events, refresh request received from a user, and/orother relevant factors (e.g., expiration of one more geofences, temporalactivation of one or more geofences, etc.). Such updates may includeupdating a center point and/or radius of a geofence, updating eventtrigger definitions of a geofence, etc.).

In some embodiments, geofences may be defined by a center point andradius. In some embodiments, geofences may be defined in some other way(e.g., a set of coordinates denoting a polygon), and/or may have a shapeother than a circle. Geofence definitions may include various otherattributes (e.g., start time, termination time, etc.). The radius orother definition of geofence range may be included in the list oflandmarks (i.e., the radius may be landmark-specific), the UE may definea default range, and/or the range may be defined based on other relevantfactors (e.g., user selection, type of landmark, etc.). The UE, MCM,and/or other appropriate resources may generate geofence definitionsthat include event trigger definitions. Such definitions may include,for instance, a distance threshold for arrival events, a time thresholdfor dwell events, etc.

The set of geofences may include an outer boundary geofence. The outerboundary geofence may be associated with radius or range of interestincluded in the request message from the UE, with a maximum distancefrom the location of the UE to the location of any landmark included inthe list of landmarks, and/or other appropriate attributes.

The set of geofences may include an inner boundary geofence. The innerboundary geofence may be associated with a specified number of “local”landmarks. The local landmarks may be selected, by the UE, by the MCM,and/or by other appropriate resources, from the list of landmarks basedon distance to the UE, with the specified number of landmarks beingclosest to the UE. Additionally, or alternatively, the inner boundarygeofence may be set to a predetermined distance or radius from thelocation of the UE, and landmarks falling within the predetermineddistance or radius may be considered as landmarks that are “local” tothe UE.

The set of geofences may include a set of local geofences, where eachlocal geofence is associated with a local landmark from the list oflandmarks. Some embodiments may limit the number of local landmarks suchthat the number of geofences in use at any time is held below aspecified value (e.g., some embodiments may limit the number ofgeofences at seventeen, which results in a maximum of fifteen locallandmark geofence, the inner boundary geofence, and the outer boundarygeofence).

In accordance with some embodiments, the UE, MCM, and/or otherappropriate resources, may identify geofence events based on thegeofence definitions and a current location of the UE. Geofence eventmonitoring, or “geofence-based location services”, may be performed bythe UE in order to minimize data transfer between the UE and otherresources, and thus decrease power consumption at the UE. Such geofenceevents may include entry events (e.g., when a UE passes a geofenceboundary such that the UE moves from a position outside the geofenceboundary to a position within the geofence boundary), exit events (e.g.,when a UE passes a geofence boundary such that the UE moves from aposition within the geofence boundary to a position outside the geofenceboundary), and dwell events (e.g., when an entry event is identified andno exit event is identified within a specified time threshold of theentry event, and/or when location information for a UE indicates thatthe UE is located within the geofence boundary for at least a particularduration of time).

The UE may monitor geofence events by periodically using UE locationservices to determine a current location and comparing the currentlocation to one or more previous locations. The delay between eachdetermination of current location, and thus power consumed, may be basedon the radius or range of the geofence, with power consumptiondecreasing with an increase in geofence radius. Thus, the variousgeofences, in the set of geofences, may be defined such that eachgeofence has a radius or range that exceeds a minimum threshold (e.g.,fifty to one hundred meters). During delay periods betweendeterminations of current location, the UE may power down, deactivate,enter sleep mode, and/or otherwise reduce power consumption associatedwith location services (e.g., by powering down a radio associated with aGPS module of the UE).

Geofence-based location services may include geofence updates based onevent detection at the UE. For instance, if an exit event is detected,by the UE, the MCM, and/or other appropriate resources, at the innerboundary geofence, a new set of local landmarks may be identified, a newinner boundary geofence may be generated, new local landmark geofencesmay be generated, and/or the previous inner boundary geofence and locallandmark geofences may be deactivated. Similarly, if an exit event isdetected, by the UE, the MCM, and/or other appropriate resources, at theouter boundary geofence is identified, all active geofences may bedeactivated, a new request for a list of landmarks may be generated,and/or a new set of geofences may be defined and generated as describedabove.

If the UE, MCM, and/or other appropriate resource detects an entry eventat a local geofence, the UE may activate “granular” location trackingservices. For instance, in some embodiments, once the granular locationtracking services are activated, the UE may monitor, track, report,determine, etc. its location more frequently (up to a maximum frequencyof update allowed by the UE or location services thereof) when locatedwithin a local geofence area than when the UE is not located within anylocal geofence area. Depending on the location services used to monitorthe geofence events, activation of granular location tracking servicesmay include activating, waking, or powering up, resources such as aradio associated with a GPS module of the UE.

Granular location services may be used to track the location of the UEwithin the local geofence area. The UE, MCM, and/or other appropriateresources, may calculate a distance between the UE and one or morereference points associated with the local landmark. Such referencepoints may be associated with various appropriate features of thelandmark (e.g., the center of the landmark area, an entrance or exit,point-of-sale (POS) terminal, etc.). The calculated distance(s) may becompared, by the UE, MCM, and/or other appropriate resources, to aminimum threshold distance (e.g., a few meters or less) in order toidentify arrival events associated with the landmark (e.g., an arrivalevent may be detected when a calculated distance is less than aspecified minimum threshold). If no exit event is identified within aspecified time threshold of the entry event (e.g., fifteen seconds), adwell event may be identified.

The UE may send a notification to the MCM, local landmark resource,and/or other appropriate resources upon identification of an arrival ordwell

event. In addition, the UE may deactivate granular location trackingservices upon identification of an arrival or dwell event. Upondetection of a dwell event, the UE of some embodiments may run a clientapplication in background mode, put the application to sleep, and/orotherwise limit operations of the application such that powerconsumption is reduced (e.g., by limiting or preventing usage of GPSradio equipment).

The notification from the UE sent upon identification of an arrival ordwell event may include personal data (e.g., user account information,user location information, etc.). Such data may be transmitted andcollected only upon identification of an arrival or dwell event suchthat user privacy is protected. Thus, private information (includinglocation data) may only be shared when the UE is within a thresholddistance of a landmark reference point (e.g., user account informationmay only be collected inside a physical store).

The MCM, local landmark resource, and/or other appropriate resources mayrespond to the event notification with landmark-specific information,content, actions, etc. For instance, if the landmark is associated witha retail store, a coupon or sales offer may be included in the responseto the notification sent from the UE. The MCM or other appropriateresource may also send a notification or other appropriate message to aresource associated with the local landmark (e.g., a local server, aremote server, etc.). In some embodiments, the UE, MCM, local landmarkresources, and/or other appropriate resources may utilize geofences toidentify border events (e.g., entering or leaving a country) such thatUE operating parameters may be updated (e.g., phone or messaging may bedeactivated to prevent roaming charges, alternative modules or elementsmay be activated for use in a new area, etc.).

If a dwell event is detected, the MCM, local landmark resource, and/orother appropriate resource may periodically send a wakeup or probemessage to the UE. Such a message may cause the UE to identify a currentlocation of the UE and determine whether an arrival or exit event hasoccurred. In this way, power consumption at the UE is limited, while theMCM or other appropriate resource manages such periodic probing. Suchperiodic probing may be continued until an event is identified, amaximum number of probe messages has been sent, and/or other appropriatecriteria.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, UE 110 (denoted in the figure as asmartphone-style icon) may send a request to MCM 120, where the requestmay include the current location of UE 110. Such a current location maybe determined by UE 110 (e.g., using GPS resources of UE 110). Thecurrent location may be determined by UE 110, MCM 120, and/or otherappropriate devices or systems. To preserve privacy, the request mayinclude the current location (and/or other relevant information such asdesired outer boundary radius) with no other identifying information.Identifying information may be included in the request in someembodiments (e.g., based on user selection or preference, and/or otherrelevant factors) such that a response may be tailored to userpreferences or settings.

MCM 120 may identify landmarks 130 (denoted in the figure as multiple“pin” or “pin drop”-style icons) within a proximate area 140 (as definedby a center point, corresponding to the location of UE 110, and a radiusfrom the center point in this example) of the current location of UE110. In some embodiments, MCM 120 may identify a minimum specifiednumber of landmarks (e.g., in lieu of determining landmarks within athreshold distance or radius from the location of UE 110). In order toprotect privacy, landmarks may be identified based only on UE location(and radius or other appropriate information) and may not utilize anypersonally identifying information. Personalized results may begenerated by MCM 120, UE 110, and/or other appropriate resources, basedon identifying information provided with consent of a user.

MCM 120 may send a response to UE 110 that includes a list of identifiedlandmarks, information defining the proximate area 140 (e.g., centerpoint and radius), if appropriate, and/or other relevant information.The list of landmarks may include a location of each landmark, ageofence radius or other geofence definition associated with eachlandmark, and/or other appropriate information. In some embodiments, UE110 may identify landmarks by utilizing a list of previously-downloadedlandmarks and/or other resources that may provide information related tolandmarks or locations of interest. Landmarks may be downloaded fromvarious resources (e.g., MCM 120, online map databases, etc.), may bebased on previous interactions (e.g., based on a “check-in” action orthe like), and/or may be otherwise received, retrieved, or identified.

UE 110 may generate an outer boundary geofence based on the location ofUE 110 and a specified distance or boundary radius, where the outerboundary geofence is represented by outer boundary area 140. Theattributes and/or parameters defining outer boundary area 140 may beincluded in the request from UE 110, may be based on user selection ordefault value, may be determined by MCM 120 based on a target number oflandmarks to be identified, and/or may be based on other appropriatecriteria. In some embodiments, the attributes and/or parameters definingouter boundary area 140 may be updated based on the identified landmarks(e.g., if a target quantity of landmarks is identified within a radiusthat is smaller than a radius specified in the request from UE 110, theresponse may include the smaller radius, which UE 110 may use to defineouter boundary area 140).

A set of local landmarks may be generated by selecting a number of thelandmarks within the outer boundary area 140 that are closest to UE 110.In this example, inner boundary area 150 includes the four closestlandmarks from the list of landmarks associated with area 140. UE 110may generate an inner boundary geofence represented by area 150. Asshown, a geofence may be generated for each local landmark, asrepresented by areas 160. Thus, active geofences include local landmarkareas 160, inner boundary area 150, and outer boundary area 140.Additional geofences may be generated (and/or existing geofencesremoved) dynamically, as described in more detail below.

In accordance with some embodiments, UE 110 (and/or MCM 120) mayidentify geofence events based on the geofence definitions and a currentlocation of UE 110. Such events may include entry events (e.g., when aUE passes a geofence boundary such that UE 110 moves from a positionoutside the geofence boundary to a position within the geofenceboundary), exit events (e.g., when a UE passes a geofence boundary suchthat UE 110 moves from a position within the geofence boundary to aposition outside the geofence boundary), and dwell events. An example ofa dwell event may include when an entry event is identified and no exitevent is identified within a specified time threshold of the entryevent, and/or when location information for UE 110 indicates that UE 110is located within the geofence boundary for at least a particularduration of time.

Geofence events may be able to be detected using geofence-based locationservices in order to reduce power consumption, by limitingcommunications with external resources such as positioning satellites.For instance, UE 110 may periodically (e.g., at five minute intervals)determine its current location and compare the current location togeofence definitions, previous locations of UE 110, and/or otherinformation that may be utilized to identify geofence events. Accordingto some embodiments, an application executing at UE 110 may monitorgeofence events to determine when to “wake” or perform some otherpredefined action.

For instance, if an exit event is associated with the inner boundarygeofence, a new inner boundary geofence may be generated by identifyinga new set of local landmarks based on the updated location of UE 110 andthe information in the list of landmarks associated with area 140.Similarly, if an exit event is associated with the outer boundarygeofence, an update request may be sent to MCM 120 (or an updateperformed at UE 110) based on the updated location of UE 110. In eachcase, previously-active geofences may be deactivated, as appropriate.

If a detected geofence event is associated with a local landmarkgeofence (e.g., an entry or dwell event), UE 110 may activate granularlocation tracking services within an area 160 associated with the localgeofence. This is in contrast to geofence-based location trackingoutside of a local landmark geofence area, where geofence events areidentified at UE 110 with geofence-based geofence monitoring.

For instance, in some embodiments, once the granular location trackingservices are activated, UE 110 may monitor, track, report, determine, orthe like, its location based on location requests initiated by the UEapplication of some embodiments rather than utilizing only geofenceevent detection for location tracking services. When located within aparticular local area 160, UE 110 may, in accordance with someembodiments, retrieve one or more reference points associated with thelocal landmark, as represented by a center point crosshairs 170 in thisexample. Reference point information may be retrieved from the list oflandmarks included in the response from MCM 120 to UE 110, a list oflandmarks identified at UE 110 by utilizing a list ofpreviously-downloaded landmarks, and/or other appropriate list oflandmarks, from a landmark resource, from MCM 120, and/or from anotherappropriate resource.

Reference point information may be retrieved by UE 110 if an entry eventis detected at a local landmark geofence. The reference pointinformation may be requested from a resource such as MCM 120, retrievedfrom a local storage of UE 110, and/or otherwise appropriately obtained.For example, reference point information may be included in the list oflandmarks included in the response from MCM 120 to UE 110, a list oflandmarks identified at UE 110 by utilizing a list ofpreviously-downloaded landmarks, and/or other appropriate list oflandmarks. As above, such reference point information may be providedwithout use of any identifying information.

Granular location tracking services may be utilized for specifieddurations at specified intervals in order to preserve UE battery power(e.g., location tracking may be activated for thirty seconds anddeactivated for a delay interval of two minutes). To achieve increasedaccuracy, some embodiments may activate such granular location trackinguntil an appropriate event is identified or some other timeout period isreached. UE location may be tracked at UE 110, using location trackingmodules included in UE 110. UE location may be tracked at a resourcesuch as MCM 120.

During granular location tracking, a distance 180 may be calculated fromUE 110 to one or more reference points 170. Distance 180 may becalculated by UE 110, MCM 120, and/or other appropriate resources. Ifthe calculated distance is less than a specified proximity threshold(e.g., a few meters or less), then UE 110, MCM 120, and/or otherappropriate resources may determine that an arrival event, associatedwith reference point 170, has occurred.

Granular location tracking data may be utilized by UE 110, MCM 120,and/or other appropriate resources, to monitor a movement path of UE 110and generated a predicted path or predicted probability of a geofenceevent. For instance, granular data may indicate that the distance 180from UE 110 to reference point 170 is decreasing, which may cause theprobability of an arrival event associated with the reference point 170to be increased. As another example, granular data may indicate that thedistance 180 from UE 110 to reference point 170 is increasing, which maycause the probability of an arrival event associated with the referencepoint 170 to be increased. Similarly, granular data may be utilized topredict a movement path (e.g., using straight line extrapolation fromtwo granular locations), which may cause the probability of an event tobe adjusted (e.g., if the predicted path passes within a thresholddistance of a reference point, the probability of an event associatedwith that reference point may be increased).

If an arrival event is detected, UE 110 may deactivate granular locationtracking. UE 110 may send an arrival notification to MCM 120 if anarrival event is detected. MCM 120 may generate a response to thearrival notification. The response may include, for example,landmark-specific information (e.g., reference point information,network connection information, etc.), offers, content, etc. Theresponse may include instructions or content that may at least partlycontrol information or user interface elements provided by a clientapplication of some embodiments.

If a dwell event is detected, UE 110 may send a dwell notification toMCM 120 and deactivate granular location tracking. When a dwell eventhas been indicated, MCM 120 may provide (e.g., on a periodic orintermittent basis) push messages to UE 110. Based on receipt of suchpush messages, UE 110 may activate granular location tracking and/orotherwise update location information in order to identify locationevents (e.g., whether an arrival event has occurred). Such push messagesmay be repeated at regular intervals until a location event isidentified or until a threshold number of messages has been exceeded.

If UE 110 exits a geofence associated with a local landmark area 160, UE110 may, in accordance with some embodiments, deactivate granularlocation tracking. In order to reduce power consumption, granularlocation tracking may be disabled if no exit event is detected within aspecified timeout period. In some embodiments, an arrival notificationmay be sent from UE 110 to a resource associated with the landmark(e.g., a local server, beacon, etc.), in order to activate localproximity tracking services, if available. Information related to suchlandmark resources may be included in (and received or retrieved from)the list of landmarks included in the response from MCM 120 to UE 110, alist of landmarks identified at UE 110 by utilizing a list ofpreviously-downloaded landmarks, and/or other appropriate list oflandmarks. For instance, if UE 110 is inside a building with poorreception, local beacons, networks, and/or other resources may beutilized to track location and/or identify events. Such local locationservices may be provided via interaction between UE 110 and a beacon(e.g., by receiving a beacon signal indicating a location of thebeacon), interaction among UE 110 and other landmark resources, or thelike. As an example of local location services, UE 110 may identify aname of a local area network and provide the name to a resource such asMCM 120 in order to determine whether a UE is located within atransmission range of some landmark resource.

As above, granular location tracking and local event detection andresponse may be performed by UE 110, MCM 120, and/or other appropriateresources without use of personal or private information. Such anapproach allows landmark-specific content to be distributed to proximateUEs 110 without requiring collection or use of private or personalinformation.

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate definition and use of geofences associated withinner and outer boundary areas. As shown FIG. 2A, an outer boundary 220may be generated based on a UE location (denoted in the figure as a“pin” or “pin drop”-style icon 210) and a specified boundary radius(e.g., eighty kilometers, in this example), denoted in the figure asarrow 230. In this example, various geographic features 240 (e.g.,roadways, waterways, borders or boundaries, etc.) are shown, but someembodiments may not have access to such data and/or may not utilize suchdata.

As shown in FIG. 2B, UE 110 may identify a set of landmarks within outerboundary 220. For illustrative purposes, the landmarks are depicted inthis figure by a set of “pin” or “pin drop”-style icons 250, which aresmaller in size than the “pin” or “pin drop”-style icon 210 thatrepresents UE 110. Based on a location provided by UE 110, MCM 120 mayretrieve or identify information indicating all landmarks located withinouter boundary 220.

The landmarks may include dynamic landmarks that are temporary orcreated on-demand, such as mobile or “pop-up” landmarks (e.g., landmarksthat are associated with a vehicle and/or a temporary location). Suchdynamic landmarks may include expiration times. UE 110 may request a newlist of landmarks after a current list has expired (or a significantnumber (e.g., a number that exceeds a threshold) of dynamic landmarkshas expired). UE 110 may request a new list of landmarks at regularintervals (e.g., every hour, every day, every week, etc.), regardless ofwhether UE 110 has exited an outer boundary geofence. In someembodiments, dynamic landmarks may be received from MCM 120 via pushnotification (i.e., such landmarks may be identified or otherwiseenabled at MCM 120, which may send push notifications to any UEs withina radius of the updated landmarks). Such push notifications may causethe landmark list at UE 110 to be updated.

As shown in FIG. 2C, a subset of the landmarks (i.e., three landmarks,in this example) identified by MCM 120 may be designated as “local”landmarks, denoted in the figure by three shaded “pin” or “pin-drop”style icons 260. Such local landmarks may be the closest landmarks tothe UE location 210. MCM 120 and/or UE 110 may specify a number oflandmarks to designate as local landmarks (e.g., three in this example)and the radius of the inner boundary area 270 may be set such that thedesignated number of local landmarks is included within the innerboundary.

FIG. 2D illustrates an updated inner boundary 280 based on UE locationchange within the outer boundary area 220. As shown (and as denoted bythe arrow from the dotted “pin”-style icon to the solid “pin”-styleicon, indicating the movement of UE 110 from its previous location toits new location), UE 110 has moved to an area that is more denselypopulated with landmarks. As such, the radius of the update innerboundary 280 is smaller than the radius of the original inner boundary270, but still includes the same number of local landmarks 260 (i.e.,three in this example).

FIG. 3A illustrates landmark geofences within inner boundary 280, inaccordance with some embodiments. In this example, each local landmark260 is associated with a local geofence area 310. Further, as shown, inthe enlarged view for a particular one of the illustrated local geofenceareas 310, each local landmark 260 may be associated with multiplereference points 320. Such reference points 320 may be associated withvarious features of the landmark (e.g., an entrance, an exit, paymentregister, sign, multimedia display, etc.). In this example, locallandmark 265 is associated with area 330, which may represent a physicalstructure (e.g., building) associated with local landmark 265.

FIG. 3B illustrates granular location tracking within example localgeofence area 310. “Pin”-style icons 340, 350, and 360 in this figureindicate example locations of UE 110 over a duration of time. As shown,the UE location may be determined at position 340, position 350, andsubsequently at position 360 along path 370. The granular locationdetermination may occur on a more frequent basis (e.g., every fiveseconds) than in other scenarios (e.g., when UE 110 is located outsideof local geofence area 310, when UE 110 has not detected a locationevent (e.g., entry, exit, or dwell) for at least a threshold period oftime, etc.). As described above, UE 110 may activate granular locationtracking for a specified time interval (e.g., thirty seconds) anddeactivate granular location tracking for a specified “delay” interval(e.g., two-and-a-half minutes, five minutes, etc.) such that powerconsumption may be reduced. The delay interval may be increased orreduced depending on various relevant factors (e.g., speed of movement,direction of movement, distance from UE to landmark, etc.).

Using the granular location tracking information, distances 375 to eachreference point 320 may be calculated and compared to a minimumthreshold distance for each reference point. If UE 110 is within thespecified threshold distance, an arrival event may be identified at UE110. Thus, geofence events may be used to track location of UE 110 untila local area geofence entry is detected, at which point granularlocation tracking may be utilized such that arrival events may bedetected with increased precision as compared to geofence tracking.Activating granular location tracking services only when UE 110 is closeto a landmark allows for precise detection of arrival events (with themost accurate location detection of UE 110) without consuming the powerthat would be required to use granular tracking alone without activationand deactivation based on geofence events. If an arrival event isidentified, UE 110 may send a notification to MCM 120 and may disablegranular location tracking in order to preserve UE battery power.

In some embodiments, UE 110 and/or MCM 120 may generate a probability orother measure indicating a confidence that an arrival event will occur.For instance, if the calculated distance between UE 110 and a referencepoint 320 is decreasing, arrival probability may be increased.Conversely, if the calculated distance is increasing, arrivalprobability may be decreased. The calculated probability may be used byUE 110 and/or MCM 120 to determine whether an arrival is likely to occuror has occurred. The probability may be compared to a threshold value byUE 110 or MCM 120 and if the threshold value is exceeded, granularlocation tracking may be activated, and arrival event identified, pushmessage(s) scheduled, delay interval decreased, and/or other appropriateactions may be performed.

Granular location tracking may be limited to a specified time period(e.g., two minutes, five minutes, etc.). If no arrival event isidentified within the specified time period (and no exit event isidentified), a “dwell” event may be identified, and UE 110 maydeactivate granular location tracking (or the delay interval may beincreased, arrival probability reduced, etc.).

FIG. 3C illustrates location tracking within an internal local geofenceassociated with area 380. Such internal local geofences may be activatedtemporarily (e.g., until an arrival or exit event is detected) such thatthe total number of active geofences is limited to below a desiredthreshold (e.g., twenty active geofences). In some embodiments, geofencedefinitions may be limited to a minimum radius (e.g., one hundredmeters) such that less power is used in probing for location informationand/or identifying geofence events, thus saving UE battery life.Temporary internal local geofences may be used to define smaller areasof interest around landmarks. An internal local geofence area 380 mayhave a radius half that of an associated local geofence area 310 in someembodiments.

Within such a temporary internal local geofence 380, as shown in FIG.3C, location tracking of UE 110 may be utilized with no delay interval(i.e., granular location tracking may not be deactivated until an eventis identified or some other deactivation criteria are met). Thus, UElocation 390 may be tracked with increased precision while within thetemporary internal local geofence 380. In addition, a distance 395between UE location 390 and any reference points 320 may be calculatedwith no delay interval, such that arrivals may be determined withrelatively high temporal accuracy and/or precision. In contrast,granular location tracking where no temporary inner geofence is enabled,as shown in FIG. 3B, may be activated and deactivated such that data iscollected at discrete intervals (e.g., corresponding to locations at ornear positions 340, 350, and 360).

FIG. 4 illustrates an example environment 400 in which one or moreembodiments, described herein, may be implemented. As shown, environment400 may include one or more UEs 110, MCM 120, landmark resources 410,and network 420. The quantity of devices and/or networks, illustrated inFIG. 4, is provided for explanatory purposes only. In practice,environment 400 may include additional devices and/or networks; fewerdevices and/or networks; different devices and/or networks; ordifferently arranged devices and/or networks than illustrated in FIG. 4.For example, while not shown, environment 400 may include devices thatfacilitate or enable communication between various components shown inenvironment 400, such as routers, modems, gateways, switches, hubs, etc.Alternatively, or additionally, one or more of the devices ofenvironment 400 may perform one or more functions described as beingperformed by another one or more of the devices of environments 400.Devices of environment 400 may interconnect with each other and/or otherdevices via wired connections, wireless connections, or a combination ofwired and wireless connections. In some implementations, one or moredevices of environment 400 may be physically integrated in, and/or maybe physically attached to, one or more other devices of environment 400.

UE 110 may include any computation and communication device that iscapable of communicating with one or more networks (e.g., network 420).For example, UE 110 may include a device that receives content, such asweb pages (e.g., that include text content and/or image content),streaming audio and/or video content, and/or other content, via anInternet connection and/or via some other delivery technique. UE 205 mayalso receive user interactions (e.g., voice input, touches on atouchscreen, “clicks” via an input device such as a mouse, etc.). Insome implementations, UE 110 may be, or may include, a radiotelephone, apersonal communications system (“PCS”) terminal (e.g., a device thatcombines a cellular radiotelephone with data processing and datacommunications capabilities), a personal digital assistant (“PDA”)(e.g., a device that includes a radiotelephone, a pager, etc.), a smartphone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a camera, a television, apersonal gaming system, a wearable device, and/or another type ofcomputation and communication device.

MCM 120 may include one or more devices (e.g., a server device or adistributed set of devices, such as a cloud computing system) thatperform one or more actions described herein. For example, MCM 120 maymanage landmark information, generate and utilize geofences, monitorand/or identify geofence events, and provide notifications or other datato UE 110.

Landmark resources 410 may include one or more devices (e.g., a serverdevice or a distributed set of devices, such as a cloud computingsystem) that provide or facilitate operation of various applications,browser content, etc. that may be provided to UE 110 via network 420.The landmark resources 410 may be associated with one or more landmarks.For instance, the landmark resources may include resources associatedwith a retailer having multiple establishments (e.g., sale information,current specials, etc.). As another example, a landmark resource may beassociated with a single establishment and may allow a customer toidentify available goods, select items for purchase, process payments,etc. In some embodiments, a landmark resource may be physically locatedat a landmark and be accessible over a local wireless connection.

Network 420 may include one or more radio access networks (“RANs”), viawhich UEs 110 may access one or more other networks or devices, a corenetwork of a wireless telecommunications network, an IP-based packetdata network (“PDN”), a wide area network (“WAN”) such as the Internet,a private enterprise network, and/or one or more other networks. In someimplementations, network 420 may be, include, or be in communicationwith a cellular network, such as a Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) network,a Third Generation (“3G”) network, a Fourth Generation (“4G”) network, aFifth Generation (“5G”) network, a Code Division Multiple Access(“CDMA”) network, etc. User device 110 may connect to, and/or otherwisecommunicate with, via network 420, data servers, application servers,other UEs 110, etc. Network 420 may be connected to, and/or otherwise incommunication with, one or more other networks, such as a publicswitched telephone network (“PSTN”), a public land mobile network(“PLMN”), and/or another network.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 by which geofences associatedwith a set of landmarks are generated and utilized to provideproximity-based services. As described herein, geofences may be utilizedto identify and respond to proximity events. Process 500 may beperformed when an application of some embodiments is launched, atregular intervals during UE use, and/or at other appropriate times. Insome embodiments, process 500 may be performed by UE 110. In someembodiments, process 500 may be performed by one or more other devicesin addition to, or in lieu of, UE 110. Furthermore, in some embodimentsa complementary process may be performed by other devices, such as MCM120, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 500 may include sending (at 510) a request forlandmarks or locations of interest. UE 110 may send such a request toMCM 120. Alternatively, UE 110 may process the request using local dataand resources (e.g., by utilizing a previously downloaded lookup tableof landmark information). The request may include a current location ofUE 110, an outer boundary radius, a number of local landmarks, and/orother appropriate information. The current location of UE 110 may bedetermined using location services associated with UE 110, and/or usingother appropriate resources. The outer boundary radius, number of locallandmarks, and other information may be provided in various appropriateways (e.g., as default values of the application or MCM of someembodiments, based on user selection, regional attributes, area type,expected density of landmarks, device capabilities such as memory,etc.).

The request may include user-specific information in some embodiments(e.g., user account information such as username and/or password,rewards balance or membership information, and/or other appropriateinformation). Such user information may be encrypted and/or otherwiseprotected such that the data is not exposed to external parties.

Process 500 may receive (at 520) a list of landmarks and associatedgeofence information. Each landmark may be associated with a location orcenter point and a radius that define a geofence. A default radius maybe utilized if none is specified for a particular landmark. Eachlandmark may further be associated with a set of reference points (e.g.,a center point of the landmark, an entrance, etc.). Such referencepoints may each be associated with a location (e.g., as specified usingGPS coordinates), a minimum distance threshold (or “arrival distance”),and/or other appropriate information. The process may also receivevarious offers, notifications, and/or other landmark-specific materialsthat may be utilized depending on event identification, user preference,etc.

The process may identify (at 530) local landmarks based on proximity tothe current location. Process 500 may calculate a distance to eachlandmark in the list of landmarks based on the location of each landmarkand the current location of UE 110. The list of landmarks may be sortedby the calculated distance in order to identify a sub-set of landmarksthat are within a local area. The process may select a number of locallandmarks from the sorted list of landmarks (e.g., four, five, ten,etc.). If two or more landmarks have a same calculated distance, arandom or default selection may be made such that the desired number oflocal landmarks is identified.

Process 500 may include generating (at 540) local landmark geofences forthe local landmarks identified at 530. Each local landmark geofence maybe generated using the landmark center point and radius. Alternatively,a default or user-specified radius may be used. Such geofences may begenerated by supplying the center point and radius information to the UEoperating system (and/or other appropriate information for defining thegeofences).

The process may generate (at 550) an inner boundary geofence based onlocal landmark attributes. A center point and radius for the innerboundary geofence may be calculated based on the locations (and/or otherattributes) of the local landmarks. The radius may be calculated suchthat each center point of each local landmark is within the radius. Theprocess may calculate the radius such that the inner boundary completelyencloses each of the local landmark geofences. In some embodiments,equations (1)-(4) below, may be used to calculate the inner boundaryradius, R, where D_(CLOSEST) is the distance of the closest non-locallandmark (i.e., the closes landmark within the outer boundary area thatis not included in the set of local landmarks), D_(LOCAL_FARTHEST) isthe distance of the farthest local landmark, and all distances arepositive values, and μ is a coefficient between zero and one thatdefines how far the radius of the inner boundary geofence extends pastD_(LOCAL_FARTHEST) toward D_(CLOSEST).

R=D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST)+μ·(D _(CLOSEST) −D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST)); whereD_(CLOSEST) >D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST)   (1)

R=μ·D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST); where D_(CLOSEST) =D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST)   (2)

R=D _(LOCAL_FARTHEST); where one landmark is inside outer boundary area  (3)

R=R _(OUTER_BOUNDARY); where no landmarks are inside outer boundaryarea.   (4)

Process 500 may include generating (at 560) an outer boundary based onthe received list of landmarks. A center point and radius for the outerboundary geofence may be calculated based on the current location of UE110 and the radius specified in the request for locations of interest.

The process may determine (at 570) whether a geofence event has beendetected. Such events may include entry, exit, and dwell events. If noevent is detected, the process may continue monitoring the geofencestatus(es) until an event is detected. As described above, such eventdetection may utilize only geofence-based location services.

If an event is detected (at 570), the process may determine (at 580)whether the event is associated with entry to a local geofence (i.e., ageofence associated with a local landmark). If the process determines(at 580) that the event is not associated with a local geofence entry,the process may determine (at 590) whether the event was an outerboundary exit. If the process determines that the event was not an outerboundary exit (i.e., the event was an inner boundary exit), the processmay identify (at 530) a new set of local landmarks based on the newcurrent location.

If the process determines (at 590) that the event was an outer boundaryexit, the process may send (at 510) a new request for locations ofinterest that includes the updated current location. Dwell eventsassociated with the inner or outer boundaries may be ignored or disabledin some embodiments.

If the process determines (at 580) that the event is a local entryevent, the process may initiate (at 595) granular location trackingservices. Examples of such granular location tracking services aredescribed in more detail in reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 below.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 600 by which position data iscollected and compared to landmark reference points to identifyproximity events. As described herein, location or position data may becollected at specified time intervals while a user device is inside alandmark geofence. Process 600 may be performed when a local trackingevent of some embodiments is identified and/or at other appropriatetimes. In some embodiments, process 600 may be performed by UE 110. Insome embodiments, process 600 may be performed by one or more otherdevices in addition to, or in lieu of, UE 110. Furthermore, in someembodiments a complementary process may be performed by other devices,such as MCM 120, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 600 may include receiving (at 610) landmark referencepoints for the landmark associated with the local geofence entry, suchas reference points 320 described above. Such reference points may bereceived from MCM 120 or may be retrieved from local storage at UE 110,if available. Each reference point may be associated with a location anda minimum distance threshold.

The process may determine (at 620) UE location. The location may bedetermined using GPS resources or other appropriate ways. Process 600may calculate (at 630) distances between UE 110 and each of the landmarkreference points.

Process 600 may determine (at 640) whether a proximity threshold hasbeen met (i.e., whether the distance between UE 110 and one of thelandmark reference points is less than the specified minimum distancethreshold). If the process determines (at 640) that the threshold hasbeen met, the process may generate (at 650) an arrival notification. Thearrival notification may be provided at UE 110 (e.g., as a check-inopportunity, as an offer or coupon, etc.). UE 110 may generate anotification message and send the message to MCM 120. MCM 120 maygenerate a response using a process such as process 1000 describedbelow.

The process may determine (at 660) whether a location tracking timelimit has been reached. For instance, as described above, someembodiments may limit location tracking to a specified time period(e.g., two-and-a-half minutes, five minutes, etc.) in order to limitpower consumption. If the process determines (at 660) that the trackingtime limit has not been reached, the process may wait (at 670) somespecified time interval (e.g., thirty seconds) before determining (at620) an updated location, calculating (at 630) distances, anddetermining (at 640) whether a proximity threshold has been met.

The specified wait interval, or delay interval, may be varied dependingon the location determined at 620. For instance, granular locationtracking services may initially be activated at UE 110 for a thirtysecond tracking interval and deactivated for a two-and-a-half minutedelay interval. During the tracking interval, location and movementinformation may be collected. The granular location tracking servicestracking interval and/or delay interval may be adjusted based on thecollected location and/or movement information. For instance, if adistance to a reference point is decreasing over time, the delayinterval may be reduced and/or the tracking interval may be increased.As another example, a probability of arrival may be calculated based atleast partly on location and movement information. For instance, a userassociated with a UE 110 may be walking at a consistent speed in aparticular direction during a tracking interval and may be predicted tocontinue along a similar path at a similar speed during the delayinterval.

If the process determines (at 660) that the location tracking time limithas been reached, the process may generate (at 680) a dwell notificationand send the notification to MCM 120. Dwell notifications may be managedusing a process such as process 800 described below. In addition tosending the notification, some embodiments may discontinue trackinglocation after the location tracking time limit has been reached. Insome embodiments, location tracking may be automatically disable oncethe location tracking time limit is exceeded. The location tracking timelimit may be reset based on event identification, periodic update,and/or under other appropriate circumstances.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 by which position data iscollected and compared to landmark reference points to identifyproximity events. As described herein, location or position data may becollected continuously (or at relatively small specified time intervals)while a user device is inside a landmark inner geofence. Process 700 maybe performed when an entry event at an inner geofence of someembodiments is identified and/or at other appropriate times. In someembodiments, process 700 may be performed by UE 110. In someembodiments, process 700 may be performed by one or more other devicesin addition to, or in lieu of, UE 110. Furthermore, in some embodimentsa complementary process may be performed by other devices, such as MCM120, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 700 may include receiving (at 710) landmark referencepoints for the landmark associated with the local geofence entry, suchas reference points 320 described above. Such reference points may bereceived from MCM 120 or may be retrieved from local storage at UE 110,if available. Each reference point may be associated with a location anda minimum distance threshold.

Process 700 may generate (at 720) an inner geofence. The inner geofencemay be generated with the same center point as the inner boundarygeofence. The radius of the inner geofence may be smaller than theradius of the inner boundary geofence (e.g., fifty meters versus onehundred meters).

The process may determine (at 730) UE location. The location may bedetermined using GPS resources or other appropriate ways. Process 700may calculate (at 740) distances between UE 110 and each of the landmarkreference points.

Process 700 may determine (at 750) whether a proximity threshold hasbeen met (i.e., whether the distance between UE 110 and one of thelandmark reference points is less than the specified minimum distancethreshold). If the process determines (at 750) that the threshold hasbeen met, the process may generate (at 760) an arrival notification. Thearrival notification may be provided at UE 110 (e.g., as a check-inopportunity, as an offer or coupon, etc.). UE 110 may generate anotification message and send the message to MCM 120. MCM 120 maygenerate a response using a process such as process 1000 describedbelow.

The process may determine (at 770) whether the inner geofence has beenexited. Such a determination may be made based on event data receivedfrom the UE operating system. If the process determines that the innergeofence has not been exited, the process may update (at 730) UElocation information. Such location update may be performed at rapidintervals (e.g., less than one second), as compared to the intervalsused outside the inner geofence.

If the process determines (at 770) that the inner geofence has beenexited, the process may terminate (at 780) the inner geofence. In suchcases, some embodiments may execute a process such as process 600 toperform local tracking without use of an inner geofence.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process 800 by which wakeup messages aregenerated and sent to a UE based on a previously-identified dwell event.As described herein, MCM 120 may send a specified number of wakeupmessages to a UE that has been associated with a dwell event at aparticular landmark. Process 800 may be performed when an entry event atan inner geofence of some embodiments is identified but no arrival eventis identified before a tracking time limit threshold is exceeded and/orat other appropriate times. In some embodiments, process 800 may beperformed by MCM 120. In some embodiments, process 800 may be performedby one or more other devices in addition to, or in lieu of, MCM 120.Furthermore, in some embodiments a complementary process may beperformed by other devices, such as UE 110, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 800 may include sending (at 810) a background pushmessage to UE 110. The background push message may include a payloadthat includes a landmark identifier and/or information related to thegeofence under consideration. The background push message may begenerated based on a dwell notification, which may be interpreted as anindication that a UE is possibly at a landmark. This is as opposed to anarrival notification where a UE is definitely at the landmark (asspecified by the distance threshold).

The push message may be received at UE 110, where a client applicationof some embodiments may poll the location of UE 110 in the background(i.e., without notifying the user or disrupting operation of UE 110) inorder to determine whether a proximity threshold has been met. If so, UE110 may generate and send an arrival notification. The process mayreceive (at 820) a response from UE 110. The response may include anarrival notification, a response indicating that no proximity thresholdhas been met, and/or no response may be received if an arrivalnotification is not generated.

Process 800 may determine (at 830) whether a proximity threshold hasbeen met. Such a determination may be made based on the responsereceived from UE 110 (e.g., whether the response includes an arrivalnotification). In some embodiments, the response may include the UElocation and the process may calculate the associated distance(s) inorder to determine whether a proximity distance threshold has been met.

If the process determines (at 830) that no proximity threshold has beenmet, the process may determine (at 840) whether a maximum number of pushor wake attempts has been reached. Such a maximum number of attempts maybe specified in various appropriate ways (e.g., default value, userselection, etc.). If the process determines (at 840) that the maximumnumber of attempts has not been reached, the process may wait (at 850) aspecified time interval and then send (at 810) another background pushmessage. If the process determines (at 840) that the maximum number ofattempts has been reached, the process may discontinue (at 860) pushmessaging.

If the process determines (at 830) that a proximity threshold has beenmet, the process may send (at 870) a notification message to UE 110. MCM120 may generate a response using a process such as process 1000described below.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example process 900 by which wakeup messages aregenerated and sent to a UE based on a proximity event detected outsideoperating hours. As described herein, MCM 120 may send a wakeup messageto a UE that has been associated with an arrival or dwell event at aparticular landmark outside operating hours. Process 900 may beperformed when an arrival or dwell event associated with a locallandmark geofence of some embodiments is identified but the landmark isnot open or otherwise is unable to provide services and/or at otherappropriate times. In some embodiments, process 900 may be performed byMCM 120. In some embodiments, process 900 may be performed by one ormore other devices in addition to, or in lieu of, MCM 120. Furthermore,in some embodiments a complementary process may be performed by otherdevices, such as UE 110, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 900 may include determining (at 910) whether thelandmark is open. Such a determination may be made by comparing acurrent time to an opening time of the landmark. If an arrival or dwellnotification is received and the process determines (at 910) that thelandmark is not open, the process may wait (at 920) some specifiedinterval, which may initially be set to the time until the landmarkopens. In some embodiments, a notification indicating the opening timemay be sent.

If the process determines (at 910) that the landmark is open, theprocess may send (at 930) a background push message to UE 110. Thebackground push message may include a payload that includes a landmarkidentifier and/or information related to the geofence underconsideration.

The push message may be received at UE 110, where a client applicationof some embodiments may poll UE 110 location in the background (i.e.,without notifying the user or disrupting operation of UE 110) in orderto determine whether a proximity threshold has been met. If so, UE 110may generate and send an arrival notification. The process may receive(at 940) a response from UE 110. The response may include an arrivalnotification, a response indicating that no proximity threshold has beenmet, and/or no response may be received if an arrival notification isnot generated.

Process 900 may determine (at 950) whether a proximity threshold hasbeen met. Such a determination may be made based on the responsereceived from UE 110 (e.g., whether the response includes an arrivalnotification). In some embodiments, the response may include the UElocation and the process may calculate the associated distance(s) inorder to determine whether a proximity distance threshold has been met.

If the process determines (at 950) that no proximity threshold has beenmet, the process may determine (at 960) whether a maximum number of pushor wake attempts has been reached. Such a maximum number of attempts maybe specified in various appropriate ways (e.g., default value, userselection, etc.). If the process determines (at 960) that the maximumnumber of attempts has not been reached, the process may wait (at 920) aspecified time interval and then determine (at 920) whether the landmarkis open. If the process determines (at 960) that the maximum number ofattempts has been reached, the process may discontinue (at 970) pushmessaging.

If the process determines (at 960) that a proximity threshold has beenmet, the process may send (at 980) a notification message to UE 110. MCM120 may generate a response using a process such as process 1000described below.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process 1000 by which notificationmessages are generated and sent based on arrival at a landmark. Asdescribed herein, MCM 120 may generate one or more notification messageswhen an arrival event is identified at a particular landmark. Process1000 may be performed when a minimum threshold distance between a UE anda landmark reference point is met and an arrival event is identified. Insome embodiments, process 1000 may be performed by MCM 120. In someembodiments, process 1000 may be performed by one or more other devicesin addition to, or in lieu of, MCM 120. Furthermore, in some embodimentsa complementary process may be performed by other devices, such as UE110, landmark resources 410, etc.

As shown, process 1000 may include receiving (at 1010) an arrivalnotification. Such an arrival notification may be received from a UE 110and may be generated using a process such as process 600, 700, 800, or900. The arrival notification may include information such as landmarkidentifier, event time, reference point associated with the arrival,and/or other appropriate information.

The process may include receiving (at 1020) user information. Such userinformation may be included in the arrival notification, or may beaccessed using information supplied therein. Such user information mayinclude, for instance, merchant account information, paymentinformation, demographic data, etc.

Process 1000 may receive (at 1030) landmark information. Suchinformation may include offers or content associated with the landmark,news or highlights related to the landmark, and/or other information.The landmark information may be received from a resource such aslandmark resource 410. For instance, user information may be providedvia an application programming interface (“API”) or other appropriateresource and user-specific landmark information (e.g., reward accountbalances, account status, etc.) may be retrieved.

The process may include generating (at 1040) a notification message. Thenotification message may be generated based on the received arrivalinformation, user information, and/or landmark information. Thenotification message may include advertisements, offers, coupons, mediacontent, and/or other relevant information. In addition to, or in placeof, a user notification message, some embodiments may generate alandmark notification message. Such a message may include informationrelated to the user (e.g., current location, shopping list, creditbalance, reward status, etc.).

Process 1000 may send (at 1050) the notification message to the userequipment. The message may be sent as a push message, short messageservice (“SMS”), email, and/or other appropriate formats for UE 110. Theformat may be selected based on various appropriate criteria (e.g., userselection, client application permissions, default value, type ofnotification, notification content, etc.).

The process may send (at 1060) a notification message to the landmark.Such a message may be sent to landmark resource 410. As above, themessage may be sent as a push message, short message service (“SMS”),email, and/or other appropriate formats for the landmark resource. Theformat may be selected based on various appropriate criteria (e.g., userselection, client application permissions, default value, type ofnotification, notification content, etc.).

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of device 1100. One or more ofthe devices described above may include one or more devices 1100. Device1100 may include bus 1110, processor 1120, memory 1130, input component1140, output component 1150, and communication interface 1160. Inanother implementation, device 1100 may include additional, fewer,different, or differently arranged components.

Bus 1110 may include one or more communication paths that permitcommunication among the components of device 1100. Processor 1120 mayinclude a processor, microprocessor, or processing logic that mayinterpret and execute instructions. Memory 1130 may include any type ofdynamic storage device that may store information and instructions forexecution by processor 1120, and/or any type of non-volatile storagedevice that may store information for use by processor 1120.

Input component 1140 may include a mechanism that permits an operator toinput information to device 1100, such as a keyboard, a keypad, abutton, a switch, etc. Output component 1150 may include a mechanismthat outputs information to the operator, such as a display, a speaker,one or more light emitting diodes (“LEDs”), etc.

Communication interface 1160 may include any transceiver-like mechanismthat enables device 1100 to communicate with other devices and/orsystems. For example, communication interface 1160 may include anEthernet interface, an optical interface, a coaxial interface, or thelike. Communication interface 1160 may include a wireless communicationdevice, such as an infrared (“IR”) receiver, a Bluetooth® radio, or thelike. The wireless communication device may be coupled to an externaldevice, such as a remote control, a wireless keyboard, a mobiletelephone, etc. In some embodiments, device 1100 may include more thanone communication interface 1160. For instance, device 1100 may includean optical interface and an Ethernet interface.

Device 1100 may perform certain operations relating to one or moreprocesses described above. Device 1100 may perform these operations inresponse to processor 1120 executing software instructions stored in acomputer-readable medium, such as memory 1130. A computer-readablemedium may be defined as a non-transitory memory device. A memory devicemay include space within a single physical memory device or spreadacross multiple physical memory devices. The software instructions maybe read into memory 1130 from another computer-readable medium or fromanother device. The software instructions stored in memory 1130 maycause processor 1120 to perform processes described herein.Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with software instructions to implement processes describedherein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to anyspecific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration anddescription but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thepossible implementations to the precise form disclosed. Modificationsand variations are possible in light of the above disclosure or may beacquired from practice of the implementations.

For example, while series of blocks have been described with regard toFIGS. 5-10, the order of the blocks may be modified in otherimplementations. Further, non-dependent blocks may be performed inparallel. Additionally, while the figures have been described in thecontext of particular devices performing particular acts, in practice,one or more other devices may perform some or all of these acts in lieuof, or in addition to, the above-mentioned devices.

The actual software code or specialized control hardware used toimplement an embodiment is not limiting of the embodiment. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the embodiment has been described withoutreference to the specific software code, it being understood thatsoftware and control hardware may be designed based on the descriptionherein.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in theclaims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are notintended to limit the disclosure of the possible implementations. Infact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specificallyrecited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Althougheach dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one otherclaim, the disclosure of the possible implementations includes eachdependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set.

Further, while certain connections or devices are shown, in practice,additional, fewer, or different, connections or devices may be used.Furthermore, while various devices and networks are shown separately, inpractice, the functionality of multiple devices may be performed by asingle device, or the functionality of one device may be performed bymultiple devices. Further, multiple ones of the illustrated networks maybe included in a single network, or a particular network may includemultiple networks. Further, while some devices are shown ascommunicating with a network, some such devices may be incorporated, inwhole or in part, as a part of the network.

Some implementations are described herein in conjunction withthresholds. To the extent that the term “greater than” (or similarterms) is used herein to describe a relationship of a value to athreshold, it is to be understood that the term “greater than or equalto” (or similar terms) could be similarly contemplated, even if notexplicitly stated. Similarly, to the extent that the term “less than”(or similar terms) is used herein to describe a relationship of a valueto a threshold, it is to be understood that the term “less than or equalto” (or similar terms) could be similarly contemplated, even if notexplicitly stated. Further, the term “satisfying,” when used in relationto a threshold, may refer to “being greater than a threshold,” “beinggreater than or equal to a threshold,” “being less than a threshold,”“being less than or equal to a threshold,” or other similar terms,depending on the appropriate con text.

To the extent the aforementioned implementations collect, store, oremploy personal information provided by individuals, it should beunderstood that such information shall be collected, stored, and used inaccordance with all applicable laws concerning protection of personalinformation. Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of suchinformation may be subject to consent of the individual to such activity(for example, through “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes, as may beappropriate for the situation and type of information). Storage and useof personal information may be in an appropriately secure mannerreflective of the type of information, for example, through variousencryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitiveinformation.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described assuch. An instance of the use of the term “and,” as used herein, does notnecessarily preclude the interpretation that the phrase “and/or” wasintended in that instance. Similarly, an instance of the use of the term“or,” as used herein, does not necessarily preclude the interpretationthat the phrase “and/or” was intended in that instance. Also, as usedherein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items, andmay be used interchangeably with the phrase “one or more.” Where onlyone item is intended, the terms “one,” “single,” “only,” or similarlanguage is used. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean“based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A User Equipment (“UE”), comprising: one or moreprocessors configured to: receive information indicating a particulargeofence region; monitor, by the UE, a location of the UE; determine,based on the monitoring, that the UE has entered the particular geofenceregion at a first time; continue monitoring, by the UE, the location ofthe UE after determining that the UE has entered the particular geofenceregion; determine, at a second time subsequent to the first time andbased on the continued monitoring, that the UE has not exited theparticular geofence region within a threshold duration of time afterentering the particular geofence region; and cease monitoring, by theUE, the location of the UE based on determining that the UE has notexited the geofence associated with the landmark within the thresholdduration of time.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: receive information indicating areference point within the particular geographical region; and determinethat the UE has been located within the particular geofence region andat least a threshold distance away from the reference point for at leastthe threshold duration of time after entering the particular geofenceregion, wherein the ceasing monitoring the location of the UE is furtherbased on determining that the UE has been located within the particulargeofence region and at least the threshold distance away from thereference point for at least the threshold duration of time afterentering the particular geofence region.
 3. The UE of claim 1, whereinthe one or more processors are further configured to: output anotification indicating that the UE has not exited the particulargeofence region within the threshold duration of time after entering theparticular geofence region; receive, in response to the notification, aset of messages; and determine, in response to receiving each pushmessage, a location of the UE at a time that corresponds to a time atwhich each respective push message was received.
 4. The UE of claim 3,wherein the monitoring by the UE of the location of the UE is at aninterval that is independent of push messages received by the UE.
 5. TheUE of claim 1, wherein the particular geofence region is a firstgeofence region, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to: determine that the UE has exited a second geofence regionthat includes at least the first geofence region; and obtain, based ondetermining that the UE has exited the second geofence region,information indicating at least a third geofence region that is locatedoutside of the second geofence region.
 6. The UE of claim 1, whereinmonitoring the location of the UE includes monitoring the location ofthe UE at a first rate before the UE has entered the particular geofenceregion, and wherein continuing to monitor the location of the UE afterthe UE has entered the particular geofence region includes monitoringthe location of the UE at a second rate that is different from the firstrate.
 7. The UE of claim 6, wherein the first rate is a faster rate thanthe second rate.
 8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, storing aset of processor-executable instructions to: receive informationindicating a particular geofence region; monitor, by a User Equipment(“UE”), a location of the UE; determine, based on the monitoring, thatthe UE has entered the particular geofence region at a first time;continue monitoring, by the UE, the location of the UE after determiningthat the UE has entered the particular geofence region; determine, at asecond time subsequent to the first time and based on the continuedmonitoring, that the UE has not exited the particular geofence regionwithin a threshold duration of time after entering the particulargeofence region; and cease monitoring, by the UE, the location of the UEbased on determining that the UE has not exited the geofence associatedwith the landmark within the threshold duration of time.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theplurality of processor-executable instructions further includeprocessor-executable instructions to: receive information indicating areference point within the particular geographical region; and determinethat the UE has been located within the particular geofence region andat least a threshold distance away from the reference point for at leastthe threshold duration of time after entering the particular geofenceregion, wherein the ceasing monitoring the location of the UE is furtherbased on determining that the UE has been located within the particulargeofence region and at least the threshold distance away from thereference point for at least the threshold duration of time afterentering the particular geofence region.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofprocessor-executable instructions further include processor-executableinstructions to: output a notification indicating that the UE has notexited the particular geofence region within the threshold duration oftime after entering the particular geofence region; receive, in responseto the notification, a set of messages; and determine, in response toreceiving each push message, a location of the UE at a time thatcorresponds to a time at which each respective push message wasreceived.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,wherein the monitoring by the UE of the location of the UE is at aninterval that is independent of push messages received by the UE. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein theparticular geofence region is a first geofence region, wherein theplurality of processor-executable instructions further includeprocessor-executable instructions to: determine that the UE has exited asecond geofence region that includes at least the first geofence region;and obtain, based on determining that the UE has exited the secondgeofence region, information indicating at least a third geofence regionthat is located outside of the second geofence region.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein monitoringthe location of the UE includes monitoring the location of the UE at afirst rate before the UE has entered the particular geofence region, andwherein continuing to monitor the location of the UE after the UE hasentered the particular geofence region includes monitoring the locationof the UE at a second rate that is different from the first rate. 14.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein thefirst rate is a faster rate than the second rate.
 15. A method performedby a User Equipment (“UE”), the method comprising: receiving informationindicating a particular geofence region; monitoring, by the UE, alocation of the UE; determining, based on the monitoring, that the UEhas entered the particular geofence region at a first time; continuingto monitor, by the UE, the location of the UE after determining that theUE has entered the particular geofence region; determining, at a secondtime subsequent to the first time and based on the continued monitoring,that the UE has not exited the particular geofence region within athreshold duration of time after entering the particular geofenceregion; and ceasing to monitor, by the UE, the location of the UE basedon determining that the UE has not exited the geofence associated withthe landmark within the threshold duration of time.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, the method further comprising: receiving informationindicating a reference point within the particular geographical region;and determining that the UE has been located within the particulargeofence region and at least a threshold distance away from thereference point for at least the threshold duration of time afterentering the particular geofence region, wherein the ceasing monitoringthe location of the UE is further based on determining that the UE hasbeen located within the particular geofence region and at least thethreshold distance away from the reference point for at least thethreshold duration of time after entering the particular geofenceregion.
 17. The method of claim 15, the method further comprising:outputting a notification indicating that the UE has not exited theparticular geofence region within the threshold duration of time afterentering the particular geofence region; receiving, in response to thenotification, a set of messages; and determining, in response toreceiving each push message, a location of the UE at a time thatcorresponds to a time at which each respective push message wasreceived.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the monitoring by the UEof the location of the UE is at an interval that is independent of pushmessages received by the UE.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein theparticular geofence region is a first geofence region, the methodfurther comprising: determine that the UE has exited a second geofenceregion that includes at least the first geofence region; and obtain,based on determining that the UE has exited the second geofence region,information indicating at least a third geofence region that is locatedoutside of the second geofence region.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein monitoring the location of the UE includes monitoring thelocation of the UE at a first rate before the UE has entered theparticular geofence region, and wherein continuing to monitor thelocation of the UE after the UE has entered the particular geofenceregion includes monitoring the location of the UE at a second rate thatis different from the first rate, wherein the first rate is a fasterrate than the second rate.